1997 Germany

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An exceptional year for German wines and arguably the finest since the legendary 1959 vintage. The winter was very cold, although the weather warmed up fairly quickly in March. On the night of the 20th April 20th a savage frost affected nearly four-fifths of the vineyards of the Saar, Ruwer and Nahe. The summer was very ordinary with not that much sunshine. However, September heralded an extraordinary Indian summer and one of the hottest and driest autumns on record. Harvesting began in the Pflaz on 6th October and on the 20th in the Mosel, Saar and Ruwer. The wines are characterised by their ripeness, concentration and precision of fruit. Acidity levels are lower than the 95s and 96s but the wines are exquisitely well balanced and display tremendous length on the palate. Very few noble sweet wines were produced as the year saw very little botrytis.